Harvard Baseball Enjoys Professional Ties

Sep 24, 2014

Mike Hill (Courtesy: Florida Marlins)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard baseball's historic tradition of representation on all levels of professional baseball has yielded some impressive names on rosters and in front offices around Major League Baseball and beyond.

Brent Suter '12 was solid on the mound for Milwaukee's Double-A affiliate, the Huntsville Stars. The lefty owns a 10-10 record in 27 starts, tossing 152.1 innings, including a complete game. Drafted in the 31st round of the 2012 MLB Draft, Suter struck out a career-best 118 batters in 2014 and owned a 3.96 ERA.

Shawn Haviland '08, a member of the Oakland A's' organization since the club drafted him in the 33rd round in 2008, won the AA Texas League Championship with the Midland Rockhounds this season, sporting a 7-7 record. After missing last season due to Tommy John surgery, the Farmington, Connecticut, native started 28 games, tossing 163 innings, while sporting a 3.81 ERA, fanning 109 batters and holding hitters to a career-low .254 batting average against him.

Eric Eadington '11 played five games with the Chattanooga Lookouts, the then-L.A. Dodgers, now-Minnesota Twins Double-A affiliate. He saw 8.0 innings of action for the Lookouts before being sent to the DL, tossing eight strikeouts and giving up just three earned for a 3.38 ERA. Opposing batters were thwarted each outing, able to hit just .214 against the former Crimson.

A four-game starter a year ago for Harvard, Danny Moskovits '14 made his professional debut for the Quebec Capitales of the CanAm League, a professional league spanning Canada and the United States. In his first-ever professional start, Moskovits led Quebec to a 3-0 win over the Troi-Rivieres Aigles in early August. He tossed 7.0 complete innings, fanning eight and giving up just a pair of base knocks. At season's close, Moskovits had put in 29.2 innings of work, earning a 2-2 record. His 24 strikeouts and 3.03 ERA were among the club's best as well. Following the successful debut season, Moskovits signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.

In the front office, Harvard has more than a few familiar faces in high places. Mike Hill '93 moved from the general manager position in the Miami Marlins organization, where he served from 2007-13, to the President of Baseball Operations this past year. Hill, a four-year letterman at Harvard, has been with the Marlins for 12 years now.

A trio of Crimson, who all played together in the late 1990s, has seen a meteoric rise in front offices. Dave Forst '98, who was a third team All-American as a senior at Harvard, has been the assistant general manager of the Oakland Athletics for 11 seasons after serving as a scout four years prior with the organization. Peter Woodfork '99 is the Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations for the MLB. Now reporting directly to Joe Torre, Woodfork had stints in Boston and Arizona, the latter of which he served as assistant GM. Jeff Bidrich '00 is the Colorado Rockies' newly appointed Senior Vice President/General Manager, promoted in October 2014. Prior to that post, he was the Senior Director of Player Development, and in that roll, secured crucial signings, including Troy Tulowitzki and Ubaldo Jimenez.

With Boston ties, Ben Crockett '02 is currently the Director of Player Development for the hometown Red Sox. After Crockett chose to stay at Harvard for his senior season, the former Crimson hurler was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the third round of the 2002 draft. At present, Crockett, who graduated from Harvard with a degree in economics, plays an integral role in the development of the Sox' farm system, assuring everything runs smoothly.

A 2004 graduate of Harvard, Trey Hendricks is currently a pro scout with the Cleveland Indians, and worked alongside 2011 grad Joe Smith in baseball operations, until Smith departed to pursue his MBA at the University of Massachusetts.. Steffan Wilson '08 is a Northeast scout for the Milwaukee Brewers and continues to rise in the ranks with the rest of the Crimson alums.